Having replaced former manager Jose Mourinho, Tottenham Hotspur’s caretaker gaffer, Ryan Mason, now heads into his fourth game in charge as we travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United in Saturday’s early Premier League kick off.
Mason’s plan against Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final didn’t quite work, but he does have victories over Southampton, and more recently, a heavy defeat of Sheffield United under his belt, so as we return to a bit more of an attacking intent, we know we will get chances against Marcelo Bielsa’s side.
Another good result puts us on the edge of being back in the battle for the top four/five places in the division and plenty of us had given up hope of that, and although their form over the last five games has tailed off, they are plucky and energetic battlers who keep running, so we’ll have to match the ugly stuff so our quality can show through.
Unless there are issues closer to the game, the only player listed as out currently continues to be Ben Davies, so all eyes to an on form Sonny, Harry and Garry.
Geof, I see the advantages for your suggestion of pay per match dependent on points gained. But how would HK10 do if he got a hat trick and the team lost 3 x 4? The notion of pay depending on the group’s overall success is appealing to me, though.
If I had my druthers, pay would be the same across all teams in the league, with a large bonuses tied to how the team is doing. Elite teams run against my sensibilities–as do gated communities. Pay the players based on team results, and let the players hire the manager they think will lead to the most success for the team so that they will get their bonuses.
Spurs might get banned from CL for two years because they joined in the super-duper league plans? LOL. maybe they’ll get banned for two years in which this lot fails to place in the top four anyway.
TK …. I’m sure you realise it was a tongue-in-cheek comment. : – )
If the Super League drop-outs are threatened with severe and damaging consequences I’m pretty sure they will simply sign up for it again and, this time, go through with it. That’s something all the various authorities will be desperate to avoid.
For what it’s worth, I see West Ham as having the easiest path to the top 4. Their hardest remaining game is at home to Everton this weekend. WBA will probably already be relegated by the time they play them, and Southampton safe.
Leicester and Chelsea both have very difficult run ins, not to mention the FA Cup final they both need to worry about, and Chelsea still have the CL final to worry about as well. I would not be surprised to see both drop points in the next few games.
Liverpool have a relatively easy run in, except for their game at Old Trafford (which has now been rescheduled). I still think the Man U fans shot themselves in the foot as Man U now have 4 games in 8 days.
If Everton can at least get a draw at West Ham, and Man U can at least get a point from their game against Liverpool, the table could open up nicely for us. But those 2 fixtures are the pivotal games, for me.
Of course, we just have to keep winning if we are to have any chance of taking advantage. That starts Saturday.
TK
Re a 2 year ban, on Euro comps, does this apply to all of the “terrible twelve”, If it did, I feel it could be the end of the CL and EL, these are the top supported teams in the world currently, if the CL was limited to German, French, Dutch, and lower placed English Spanish, Italian teams, it could /would devalue the competition as the best in Europe wouldn’t be playing and arguably would prevent the winners from defending their title.
Who would watch this?What would it be worth if all the best teams, weren’t there, it would be like the 1982 Olympics, when the best athletes didn’t attend, your medal in many ways is worthless.
Would it encourage those banned teams from playing a “friendly” competition around the same time, on top of everything it could kill off the Transfer market for a few years as these top teams wouldn’t particularly need a large squad as there are only home competitions to play for also would it even be worth winning these competitions even at home if it doesn’t get you into Europe anyway.
Next we’ll probably now have large legal battles from these twelve combined against fifa, uefa
We all saw how they folded against Man C, and that was only one team how would they get on against twelve combined.
Don’t like this at all 8.
Scoundered so I am.
Niall,
I only read one article saying this, so I don’t know more than that there is such a proposal to ban all of the supper league culprits for two years, assuming that that article got it right. I agree with you that this would be a “cutting the nose to spite the face” move on the part of UEFA. Bayern Munich could start preparing the polishing rags when the competing starts. Maybe Ajax could win? Or LC?
Who knows, such stupidity on the part of UEFA might be just the thing to rekindle the super league. lol.
As it is, I cannot watch CL matches in the USA when I’m here unless I buy a subscription to a channel i’d never watch otherwise (which I won’t do) or watch it in a Spanish language channel, which I’ve been doing.
The greed of paid TV might kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. To watch most Spurs matches I have to buy a subscription to another channel in which i have no interest, and I cannot watch that channel when I’m in Brazil. In Brazil I’ve figure out how to pirate the paid channelhere) there (thanks to some criminal mates there), but i that won’t work while I’m in NY.
Capitalism hates the common club supporter. Indeed, capitalism hates life, unless it pays a lot of big fees
Might as well give up in the end and limit my following of Spurs to reading the comments on VS. lol.
Anyway, if the super leaguers are banned from CL for two years, let’s hope it happens when we haven’t made the top four. 😱 God forbid. I was getting used to our being there. Now it seems a distant dream of the past.
Spurs were a mid table team when ENIC and DL arrived. Maybe it will be the same when they leave? Will they take the stadium with them and charge us rent if we want to play there? Could we afford the rent if we’re stuck in mid table and without CL? Will DL use the stadium to start a new team for a new super league? The Tottenham Cold Feet? Like the hockey pockey, they’ll put one foot in and take out to shake it all about. They won’t even figure out what league they’re in or where to play. Will Spurs have to rent Emirates to play home matches?
Oh meu deus. I’m unraveling. See what money in football can do to us?
Up piracy!!!! Take the game back!!!! Move the game out of TV and big stadiums. Give a free football to every child in all of the lands and watch them play in the parks and on the beaches. Give them Spurs kits to wear while playing. Keep the dream alive. Oligarchs out of out game!! Estate developers, too!
Okay, my therapy session is over. The hour is up. I’m going back to work so as to relax.
Regards the Bans for the 12 by EUFA for joining the ESL, well they are not looking at the English 6 because they were good boys and pulled out, it appears EUFA want to BAN the others, up to 2 years from Euro Comps, because they are naughty boys and are still talking about it happening and refusing to pull out, or so it seems. lol!
COYS
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned that it is 60 years to the day since we completed the double!
Spurs has an easy run in also bit manage to mess that up, are we really surprised. I doubt it
I wonder why city fans don’t want their owners out, I wonder why.
Have to laugh
As we have so many ways currently to the CL, it’s one of those mathematical ones where even if we were some how to get 4th, If Chelsea actually win the CL, we don’t get in, that’s the sort of thing would happen. 🙁
Fortunately there’ll be no repeat of 2012 as the max number of teams from the prem is 5 meaning if Chelsea did win, we would be safe if we did get 4th . . . Only issue would have been if Arsenal were in the Europa final and won. Thankfully they are having a badder season than us!
Niall – that can no longer happen.
If Chelsea win the CL but finish outside the top 4, there will be 5 English teams in next year’s CL.
The only worry was that if both Chelsea and Arsenal won in Europe, and both finished outside the top 4, whoever was in 4th would have missed out to Arsenal.
But with Arsenal being eliminated now, the scenario has gone.
It’s sixty years to the day that we completed the Double. Now you can be less surprised, TQ! : – )
🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_JUKrvEEJc
1961 FA cup final on video
TK …. You have to wonder why everyone wasn’t sent off when watching the final. The acting was terrible back in the day …. not one player rolled around in pretend-agony, waiting for the whistle, which wouldn’t have come in any case.
How they headed and kicked those medicine balls is beyond me!
It wasn’t a classic final (probably due to the injury to Chalmers), and the Spurs beautiful football was not quite up to the standard displayed throughout most of the season …. but, after a long season, job done!
60 years later Leicester in the FA cup final. Hmmm
TK. You have put that link up for the ’61 FA cup final a few times now.
I watched it once before. It was a terrible match. And Spurs were awful, even if they did win it. They played much like we’ve seen this season. Not when parking buses, but when we have seen them constantly giving the ball away. And effectively against 10 men for most of the match.
And up until Charmers was injured, the Foxes were the better team. And they weren’t that great themselves.
It certainly wasn’t an example of the “Beautiful Game” that you and many of us have been craving for this season.
The only reason I can think to watch it, is as a bit of nostalgia for those that remember it from the TV in 1961 or were there, at Wembley. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone that hasn’t yet seen it. 🙁
Niall…
The CL qualifying rules for the PL were changed after Spurs finished 4th in 2012 but didn’t qualify because (coincidently) Chelsea won it. And so only the top 3 + Chelsea qualified at the time and Spurs didn’t because only 4 PL teams were permitted. It was due to this unfair outcome for Spurs, that they then changed the rules.
Now, if the scenario was the same and Chelsea win it, but finish 5th with Spurs finishing in 4th in the PL. Spurs would now qualify. As 5 PL teams can now be in it…
There is still one VERY unlikely scenario which could end up being detrimental for whoever finishes 4th.
If Chelsea win the CL, and Man U win the EL, while both miss out on the top 4, then they would both qualify through Europe, and given the 5 team maximum, who is 4th would lose out.
However, this would take a collapse of epic proportions from Man U to miss out on top 4.
Sorry folks I didn’t explain it right, at the time Arsenal were still in for the EL given Man U are 2nd and are ulikkely to drop out of the top 4, I can’t see the scenario happening, it was unlikely anyway, but it would’ve been the sort of scenario that would have happened to us if we somehow managed top 4.
HT was just looking back at that 2012 time.
I wonder if Fonseca would be worth considering for the managerial vacancy? He is very much like Poch in his philosophy and playing style and has a record of winning titles and trophies, even if this was mostly with Shaktar. At 48 he does have age on his side and wouldn’t cost anything in compensation. My own feeling is that a squad rebuild is going to be more relevant to bringing success than the choice of manager as long as whoever we choose doesn’t play football that bores us to tears!
TQ I’m with you there, if only because you spotted Tuchel.
Don’t know much about Fonseca as a manager, but if you say he’s decent, I’m OK with that. 😉
Hi Niall….. i don’t know too much about him either other than what I’ve read today, although his name was familiar to me from watching european club games. I think the general argument I’m making is that upgrades to squad places would make more difference to results on the pitch than maybe the managerial appointment. If you like…..I would rather have Ryan Mason managing Bruno Fernandes than Pep Guardiola managing ********** (insert your worst ever Tottenham signing here).
You have to say….Ryan Mason conducts himself and talks very well in his pressers.